Market Not Fazed By Bearish Fed and Nvidia Talk

The stock market held up remarkably well yesterday despite Fed Chair Jerome Powell's warning that "there's more restriction coming" because the labor market remains too strong. He suggested that 25-bps rate hikes are still on the table for the next two meetings of the FOMC.

Powell spoke during a monetary policy session in Sintra, Portugal, which is famous for its huge crashing ocean waves that attract surfers from around the world. Yet, the waters remained calm in the stock market. The Nasdaq managed to edge up yesterday despite a 1.8% drop in Nvidia's stock price on reports that the Biden administration is considering new export controls on AI chips, as Washington increases its efforts to make it harder for China to obtain technology with military applications.